


bioluminescence and iridescence

by EzzyDean



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2015-10-24
Packaged: 2018-04-27 20:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5062735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EzzyDean/pseuds/EzzyDean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world was a series of actions and reactions.  Sometimes you did something and got a reaction you never expected.  Sometimes it turns out better than you could imagine.</p><p>The bright honesty in his eyes is what gets Kei every time.  Nishinoya doesn’t mince words, he never has, and that fact settles the doubts in his mind before they can ever even try to surface.</p><p>(a collection of Tsukishima/Noya drabbles set in the same verse at various times)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Actions and Reactions

The world was a series of actions and reactions.  He did something, got a reaction, and if it amused him enough he continued doing it.

Teasing Kageyama and Hinata always caused explosive reactions that entertained him for at least a half an hour each time and sometimes it took as little effort as simply raising an eyebrow at them or cocking his head at a certain angle.

Blocking a particularly smug spiker almost always led to them getting frustrated and sending him glares that lift his mood and make the effort worth it.

Sassing someone subtly enough that Yamaguchi is the only person who catches it and he starts snickering behind his hand and darting glances at him and calling out a laughing half-hearted “Sorry Tsukki” is such a natural instinct that the almost non-existent effort is definitely worth it.

Sometimes things don’t work out.  Attempting to tame his curly messy bed hair before a shower - not worth the effort.  Sharing his strawberry shortcake - nothing good has come of it ever so no.  Willingly offering to help with schoolwork - nope.

But sometimes… sometimes things work out even better than he could have imagined.

Nishinoya had been chattering away all practice about something Tsukishima had only been half listening to in that way that he listens to most of the second and third years: close enough that he can respond if prompted but not so close as to actually know what the topic really is about.  He was kneeling down next to the bench and retying his shoe - for some reason his left one kept coming untied today and it was mildly aggravating - and watching out of the corner of his eye as Nishinoya lightly swung his feet and talked about something, something that now had sound effects.  Nishinoya was leaning back, one hand gripping the bench and the other gesturing as he sound effected all over the place, and his eyes were doing that sparkling thing they did that sometimes caught Tsukishima off guard with the way it made his stomach twist.

Then he had thought somewhere in the back of his mind that he’d like Nishinoya to be quiet for just a moment and that he knew the perfect way to do it.  It was also the perfect chance to see what kind of reaction he’d get and if it would be worth it.

He turned and set his hand on the bench for leverage, fingers splayed out just close enough to Nishinoya’s to feel the warmth from them, and pushed himself halfway up, leaning into Nishinoya’s space.  He presses their lips together and isn’t surprised to find that Nishinoya’s are a little chapped - probably from all the talking and the way his tongue darts out when he’s concentrating - and they’re warm, opening into an ‘o’ of surprise as Tsukishima pulls away.

The blush that floods Nishinoya’s face and the twinkles in his eyes as Tsukishima stands - along with the sudden lack of talking coming from him - definitely makes Tsukishima think that this reaction, along with the way his chest tightens at the smile Nishinoya gives him and the heady rush of heat to his own cheeks, is worth the effort of the action.

But he might have to test it out a couple more times.


	2. Listening and Hearing

Nishinoya’s voice slowly drops off and he leans forward and pokes Tsukishima in the side, mouth curling into a smile when Tsukishima grunts and moves away from his finger, though the smile fades nearly as quickly as it had appeared.  Frowns don’t fit Nishinoya’s face, Tsukishima decides, not nearly as nicely as blinding smiles and looks of concentration that made your skin tighten with anticipation for whatever was going to happen.  (That whole action-reaction thing again.  Action: Nishinoya smiled at him, open and honest and full of life.  Reaction: his stomach fluttered and butterflies somewhere probably sprung into flight over a field of wildflowers.)

But this look, this frown of concern, just wouldn’t do at all.

“Are you listening to me?”  Nishinoya raises an eyebrow as he watches Tsukishima expectantly.

“I heard you.”

“That’s not what I asked.  Hearing me and listening to what I say aren’t the same things.  You know that.”

Despite how flighty and overexcited he can get Tsukishima knows that Nishinoya is observant and smart, just not the kind of smart that can be measured well by standardized tests and monotonous school work.

“I was listening.  I just don’t know what you expect me to add to a conversation about the action movie you watched last night.”

Nishinoya lets out a long sigh and flops onto his back.  “I don’t care.  Tell me about all the plot holes or the way the explosions were too big to be real.  Heck tell me how it would have been better as a cartoon.  Just stop looking like Mr. Grumpy Pants for a little while.  Cheer up.”

“I don’t need cheering up.”  He didn’t think he did.  He felt content enough right now anyway.

“Your default expression makes it look like you eat lemons for breakfast and the entire world bores you.  Needlessly hot-blooded people irritate you yet you spend most of your time with the other first years or me and you didn’t get to watch the documentary you wanted last night because practice ran late.  You could use some cheering up.”

“Say I do,” Tsukishima finally says, “what makes you think you’re the one to do it?”

Nishinoya rolls up onto his knees and settles himself in Tsukishima’s lap in an instant, eyes doing that sparkle thing that makes Tsukishima’s stomach twist and he wonders if Nishinoya can feel it where he has one hand pressed against Tsukishima’s stomach.  The other hand is resting softly against the back of his neck, fingers playing with the curls of hair there, as Nishinoya smiles up at him.

“Because I can do this,” he states.

Then he kisses Tsukishima’s nose once before settling their lips together with a pleased hum that, if Tsukishima were the type to discuss this kind of thing with anyone, he would swear he could feel thrum through his veins straight down to his toes.  Tsukishima’s chest tightens with warmth in a way he has come to associate with Nishinoya alone and a sense of contentment washes over him, even when Nishinoya breaks the kiss and smiles fondly at him.  Butterflies somewhere surely remembered a sudden reason to take flight and his stomach flutters with them.  He can feel blush heat his cheeks but he can’t really make himself care about that.  Not when Nishinoya is looking at him like he’s the most important thing in the room and it’s more than worth it to be the cause of the proud look that settles in his eyes when Tsukishima nods.

“I feel more cheerful now, thanks.”  Then he gets an even larger grin when he adds, “Though if you want to continue cheering me up like that I won’t complain.”


	3. Friends and Celebrations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> like I said earlier the timeline for these jumps around in no particular order

There’s a wave of cool air, an audible intake of breath, and an appreciative hum before Tsukishima manages to snag the blankets back and bury himself in them once again.  Nishinoya’s voice is cheerful as usual but, thankfully, softer than normal as he settles himself on the edge of the bed.

“Is there a reason you’re naked in my bed?”

“Most likely because my friends are assholes.”

“Hey I’m not an asshole,” Nishinoya gently pokes at his blanketed form and then flops onto him.

“You’re not _just_ my friend either.”

Nishinoya hums thoughtfully.  “That’s true.”  He snuggles his head against the blankets until he winds up with it pressed somewhere near Tsukishima’s stomach.  “So what was the occasion again?”

“We were celebrating… something.  Honestly I’m not entirely sure I even knew what we were celebrating when we started.”

Nishinoya’s laughter is bright even under the covers and Tsukishima frowns as he buries himself deeper in the blankets

“You went out with _that_ group without knowing what you were celebrating?  That’s pretty ballsy of you.”

He immediately misses the warmth against his side when Nishinoya hops off the bed and pads out of the room.

Tsukishima rubs his head gingerly against the pillows he had managed to bury under the blankets with him, blood throbbing dully against the back of his closed eyes.  The only thing he wants right now is to go back to sleep.  Unfortunately he’s already awake and he knows from experience that he’s now awake for the day, for better or worse.

He gets as far as convincing himself to sit up and let the blankets pool around his waist, and actually doing it, before Nishinoya returns with a bottle of cool water and a couple of pain killers.

“I’m not complaining about the view,” Nishinoya’s eyes wander across his bare chest and shoulders and stomach and Tsukishima squints to try and read the expression on his face without his glasses.  Glasses that if his head didn’t hurt quite so much he would be more concerned for the whereabouts of.  “I mean not at all.”  Nishinoya’s grin is clear even without his glasses and he feels his face flush at the attention.  “But do you have any idea how they got you naked and in my locked apartment while I was out?”

“Yuu, I don’t even know where my clothes _are_.  Or my phone or wallet or glasses.  So… no.  No I don’t.”  He finishes the water and tosses the bottle towards the trash can in the corner.  “Best guess is Tadashi or Suga for the locked apartment bit and Bokuto or Hinata for my lack of clothing.”

Tsukishima thinks he hears Nishinoya mumble something about thanking Hinata later before Nishinoya is suddenly in his space, arms around his neck as he somehow gently tumbles them backwards - probably thanks to his libero reflexes and speed - and buries them in a tangle of blankets and pillows.


	4. Tired and Exhausted

If he really wanted to Noya was pretty sure he could tell each level of tiredness Tsukishima had and when he reached it simply by the set of his shoulders, tilt of his judging eyebrows, and the pauses between words.  But he’d much rather tell that slow descent to sleep by other things.  Namely by how much Tsukishima touched him or allowed himself to be touched.  

It was in the way he let Noya’s touches linger by degrees until he returned them.  The way he’d let Noya’s fingers stay on his arm a few seconds longer the tireder he got until he stopped brushing his hand away and, instead, leaned towards him the slightest bit.  The way his stiff posture slowly sank until their arms pressed together and his legs spread to bump their knees.  The way he went from shrugging Noya’s head off his shoulder to tilting his own head nearly imperceptibly closer.

When he was truly exhausted, mentally and physically, Tsukishima would come up to him if he was alone or talking to Asahi - no one else but Asahi, Noya had noticed, which was oddly adorable - and simply lean against him, chest pressed against the back of Noya’s head, and drop his nose into Noya’s hair.  They’d stay that way for a few minutes and then Tsukishima would straighten and walk away as if nothing had happened.  The first time it happened Noya had been certain Asahi was about to have a heart attack but after his initial wide-eyed pale panicked glances between Noya and Tsukishima he had simply shook his head and continued their conversation.

That was the sweetest thing to Noya: when Tsukishima sought him out.  It didn’t happen a lot, at least during school or practice, but feeling a warm presence beside him and glancing over to see Tsukishima leaning against the wall next to him made something in his heart skip a beat or two.  His heart would skip even more beats when Tsukishima would sit down next to him during long practice breaks on weekends, drop his head to his knees and lean into his shoulder while he dozed off for a few minutes.  That made something warm and protective and a little frightening in it’s intensity grow in Noya’s gut.

And it was the moments like these that made his heart completely stop for a beat, like it was preparing itself to burst right there in his chest.  Moments where he wakes up with Tuskishima wrapped around him, cheek pressed against Noya’s chest like he had fallen asleep to the beat of his heart and was never going to move, fingers tangled in Noya’s shirt and hair messy tickling  Noya’s chin.

Tsukishima doesn’t even open his eyes when he shifts and snuggles himself closer with a muttered “A few more minutes” and Noya laughs softly and untangles Tsukishima’s fingers from his shirt so he can tangle them with his own fingers.  A few more minutes sounds good to him.


	5. Kei and Yuu

There’s something a little intoxicating about the way that Nishinoya looks when they’re like this.  When his face is still flushed (thanks to Kei) and his hair has lost most of it’s gelled gravity defying volume (thanks to Kei’s fingers) and his breath is ragged (once again thanks to Kei… and his fingers) and ragged against Kei’s collarbone.  For all that he looks like he just got the best workout of his life Nishinoya looks… content.  Peaceful in a way that his high energy self can’t always manage and it makes Kei’s heart do that stupid stutter-stop-jump thing that makes his chest tight and filled with warmth.

Somehow Nishinoya manages to snuggle even closer though much more and he might as well be crawling under Kei’s skin and taking up residence there.  Kei runs his fingers down the dip of Nishinoya’s spine, nails scratching lightly at the skin just to feel goosebumps ripple up and make Nishinoya shudder and bury his nose into Kei’s neck with a whimper.

“‘S too much,” Nishinoya mouths against his neck, lips dry and practically burning against the damp skin under them.  “You’re too much.”  Nishinoya’s fingers curl against his chest and Kei can feel the powerful play of muscles under his fingers when Nishinoya pushes himself up to look him in the eye.  “Too much and I still want more.”

The bright honesty in his eyes is what gets Kei every time.  Nishinoya doesn’t mince words, he never has, and that fact settles the doubts in his mind before they can ever even try to surface.

“Well,” Kei says as his fingers glide along quickly cooling skin and press into pliant muscles as he rolls them over and braces himself above Nishinoya, “then it’s a good thing I don’t have any plans today isn’t it?”

“A very good thing,” Nishinoya murmurs as he drags Kei down for a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> As always. Feel free to come yell at me on [Tumblr](http://ezzydean.tumblr.com).


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